A multi-disciplinary team of materials and mechanical engineering students finished second at the Electrathon Race at Barber Motorsports behind professional team Tiger Racing on Monday.

The team was made up of mechanical students Catherine Clark and Amie Eder and materials students Chris Graves and Ranae Wright.

The UAB team ran a total of 17 laps over two races on the 2.4-mile course. The car averaged 25 miles per hour with a top speed of 37 miles per hour in the morning race.

“Good balance is needed between speed and endurance to win in this competition,” says materials assistant professor Haibin Ning, Ph.D. “The rule is that only one set of batteries is allowed for each hour-long race, and in that hour, the driver tries to get as many laps as possible.”

The UAB team completed only seven laps in the first race, but improved greatly in the second to run a 10-lap race. Tiger Racing won by two laps, finishing 19 laps over the two races.

For more about the event, which also included a separate division for high school teams, see this story from al.com.